Thistles - pony eating them?

[ClaireBear_nz]

Yes, Sparky came up with another completly weird habit!

Shes in a paddock with a good covering of grass (not heaps, but enough) and gets hay morning and night. She also gets a smallish feed each night.
However, shes taken into her head to eat the thistles that are in her paddock. They are just small ground ones, but shes eating a lot of them!

Does anyone know what would make her do this and/or any consequences of eating them? (Aside from prickles in her face!!!)

[poohsmate]

our lot love them, especially the heads when they are in flower:) never ceases to amaze me how versatile a horses mouth/muzzle is when sorting out what it want's to eat.
i would not not worry about it:D :D

[Darcys-girl]

Darcy loves the little ones on the ground when the leaves are new and soft.

[notpoodle]

angel loves them too :) quite funny last summer, there was big thistly thing with flowers on it and angel and her pal took turns in munching bits of them, almost in a 'he loves me! he loves me not!' fashion!

Julia
x

[doris]

It's quite normal for them to eat thistles, and nettles and hawthorn out of the hedges.

[connieD]

mine all eat thistles, especially when they are in flower!

if you look at many herbal supplement they contain thistle so they can only be good for them! your horse is saving you some money!!

[mayoguinness]

Some horses won't touch them and some love them, if somethings lacking in there diet they will eat certain things to make up for that so a supply of thistles are always good in a field, Mayo loves em too:)

[horsy]

My horse loves thistles, he will grab the flowers from them as we are riding along the road. He seems to like all purple flowers though... including peoples bedding plants:o :rolleyes:

[Maddison's girl]

yeap another one here that loves them! (Not me, maddison):D

[chev]

Mine love them too - Andy in particular picks the flowers off as soon as they open. I'd much rather they ate them than got stuck in them... once went up to bring my old cob in to find he'd rolled in the thistle patch. His entire forelock and mane were full of them... looked like he had curlers in! :D And it took several hours to get them all out again too... :rolleyes:

[Roofio]

J's not interested, but one of his fieldmates will do anything for a thistle flower.

Js preference is for that sticky weed stuff, even when he has to get it out of the nettle bed :eek: Last year he ruined the sheepskin bit on his headcollar, filling it with the little ball things off the stickyweed stuff. :rolleyes:

[poohsmate]

My horse loves thistles, he will grab the flowers from them as we are riding along the road. He seems to like all purple flowers though... including peoples bedding plants:o :rolleyes:

yes i have one like that, was talking to YO this morning while holding the two Thugs! and Rommy devoured half a hanging basket of pansies before i could stop him:D :D

[ClaireBear_nz]

:D Good to know that Sparks isn't the only weirdo pony out there! Sparks is usually a fussy eater, but if she likes thistles, she can eat the thistles! Saves me trying to remove them!

My sisters horse was obsessed with chives at one point. And roses! He would nibble off the prickles then eat the stalks. Tally's quite partial to the manuka bush outside the yard, especially when I'm hauling at the lead telling him not to eat it

[puzzles]

i can't remember exactly why but thistles are avaluable herb - for one they contgain may essential nutrients for tip top health, a useful (and freeeee if you already have it in your pasture!!) nutritious extra for your horse to enjoy.
:-D

[Afellpony]

Falcon enjoys them too. I expect when he lived on the Fells they formed a regular part of his diet.

[puzzles]

there is absalutely nothing wrong witrh eating thistles. In fact, they're a fab herbal remedy as they are full of essential minerals, rather like a healthy treat that you're fortunate to have access to ratehr than a pasture epst.
Enjoy!

[horseygirl123]

Well, this morning when I brought tara in she headed for a great big thistle looking thing, and rolled her lips back and picked out the bud thing in the middle with her teeth, I so wish I had a camera with me, it was hysterical !!!

[Wally]

I had a terrible problem with thistles in one of our HUGE hill parks. I used to scythe them but it made no difference.

One winter we put the Icelandics in there and they ate the lot and we hardly have a problem with them any more.

[NZdressage]

My old pony has even learnt to scratch her bely on them, clever girl!

[Chip]

My lot love thistles....and gorse:cool:

[Lucyad]

I once watched in astonishment when my old share mare dug up a thistle root and ate it like a carrot:eek:

Oscar likes cow parsley best:o

[ClaireBear_nz]

Mum is thrilled with dear Sparks, shes completly cleared the middle paddock of thistles, which we've been trying to do for years! I think she must dig up the roots as well.

Tally took a chunk out of the manuka bush the other day, that isn't poisonous is it? :eek: